Vancouver Whitecaps assistant coach Paul Ritchie was full of praise for Everton manager David Moyes after recently spending time taking his coaching badges in Europe.

The former Heart of Midlothian, Bolton, Manchester City and Dundee United defender is undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence so he can one day get into coaching back in football's heartland and was delighted to get the chance to learn from Moyes at a recent crisis management talk at Goodison Park.

"What [Moyes] has done at Everton is just a testament to himself as a person, as a character," Ritchie told The Province.

"They're fighting above their weight. And when he started 10 years ago, coaches were given time.

"Nowadays you don't get time. You've got to be an instant success, especially in the UK."

After the time spent at Everton, Ritchie moved onto German giants Bayern Munich to get a closer look as to how one of the world's biggest clubs are run. That experience was also one the Scotsman relished.

"To be in that stadium, what a fantastic experience," Ritchie added.

"It's one of the biggest clubs in the world and it was fantastic to be there. I got a good insight into how that club is run and what their philosophy is. It all gives me some sort of preview of what it's like to be a manager and I can pass on these experiences to our staff and players."

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